2. speakers
  3. 1357494963

KEF LS50

Don't post often here but thought I would let you all know I stumbled on a pretty amazing performer in this little monitor.

I would say the midrange is on par with my Harbeth 40.1, treble has a tad more leading edge bite than the best soft dome but its a really good top end that never gets nasty. Dynamically they are performing way better than they should. I'm betting they would compete with the new 30.1 sonically, just a guess.

Have them running with 20X price electronics in a small office and they are not outclassed in any way. Made me want to keep throwing my best gear with them they sounded so good.

If you are in the market grab a pair, you will not regret. Saw two pair this morning for sale for around 1K, I can't think of anything in 20 years offering this much performance for 1K. You could build a world class non-full range sound around these.
petland
misternice's avatar
misternice
339 posts
 
Hi there Torxx,I have the ls 50,thankyou for your evaluation.I would like to hear the b@w speakers one day,now.cheers.For now,the kefs will do me,theyre showing every little change I make in the chain.Pretty much my first monitor
brianportugal's avatar
brianportugal
135 posts
 
Siek you mention your silver lines minuet supremes in the mix how do they compare to the Harbeth and Kef? I have the silver lines with a and 326 and wondering about the differences realizing there is a big price difference. What would you drive the Kefs with?
joekapahulu
244 posts
 
Looking at buying ls50. ? I have is whether they will sound good on a shelf? Wife is not thrilled about stands. OK with them being on the console/rack where the hardware is. I knownits not ideal but anyone else deviated from the ideal? I had my Spend or S3/5 set up that way and it wasn't bad.
misternice's avatar
misternice
339 posts
 
Hi,I doubt you will hear there full potential on a shelf.You mite get a good sound,but not a huge soundstage.
seikosha
218 posts
 
Hi Brianportugal,

Yes, I did own the little Minuets, LS50's and P3ESR's all at the same time being driven by a Musical Fidelity M3i integrated amp. I still own the Harbeths and Silverlines..I sold the Kefs a few weeks ago.

I'm a fan of the Silverlines, and they sound more different from the Kefs and Harbeths than the Kefs and Harbeths sound from each other.

The main thing with the Silverlines is that you can only get so much out of that tiny driver in a tiny enclosure. The music just doesn't breathe as well and can start to sound compressed where the other two don't. If you don't play big music with lots going on, you might not notice it though.

I do prefer the imaging and soundstage capabilities of the Silverlines. With them, instruments are more specifically focused and the soundstage was wider and deeper. I also thought the overall tonal balance of the Silverlines was better in that they don't have that artifical bass hump in the upper bass regions that both the Kef's and Harbeth's have in my room. FWIW, the Silverlines also measured a lot flatter with an SPL meter in that range as well.

That said, the treble and upper midrange regions are a little more refined on the Kefs and Harbeths, but remember, there is a huge price differential going on as well.

Hope that helps.
More to discover